1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical modulator element having a substrate and an obliquely displacing member provided over the substrate to displace obliquely with respect to the substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the related art, various optical elements have been proposed as the element that switches ON/OFF of the light (optical modulation) (see JP-A-2001-356282, for example). The element set forth in JP-A-2001-356282 is constructed such that the reflecting mirror provided over the substrate can be turned by the motor drive to take its horizontal position and its vertical position with respect to the substrate. When the reflecting mirror is set in its horizontal position, the light incident from obliquely above with respect to the substrate is reflected and emitted to the outside. When the reflecting mirror is set in its vertical position, the light incident from obliquely above with respect to the substrate is reflected to the substrate side and then absorbed by the light absorbing surface formed on the substrate. As a result, the optical switching can be realized.
In the optical element set forth in JP-A-2001-356282, since an incident light and an emergent light are present on the same side of the optical element, the peripheral optical system becomes complicated in structure and thus such element is unsuitable for the miniaturization. In contrast, the transmission optical modulator element in which the incident light and the emergent light are present on the opposite side to put the element between them is known. Therefore, if such element is employed, the miniaturization can be realized.